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The new federal Congress that assembled in New York in the spring of 1789 and the newly inaugurated president, George Washington, faced enormous tasks. An entire government had to be created in the aftermath of a bitter national battle for ratification of the new federal Constitution. All administrative offices and the military forces had to be created and organized. All federal officers had to be appointed. A federal judiciary had to be created and staffed. Opposition to the new federal Constitution had to be defused. Inventiveness, cooperation, and compromise were the governing principles in these Herculean endeavors.
[Mercy Otis Warren]. Observations on the New Constitution, and on the Federal and State Conventions, by a Columbian Patriot. Boston, 1788. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (69.00.01) [Digital ID# us0069_01; us0069]
Mercy Otis Warren (1728–1814), America’s most prominent female writer during the Revolutionary War era, strongly objected to the absence of a bill of rights in the federal Constitution of 1787. She was also concerned that the Constitution set no limits on the power of the judiciary and contained no rotations of offices or term limits for federal officials.
Charles Thomson. Address to George Washington, April 14, 1789. Manuscript. George Washington Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (71.01.00)[Digital ID# us0071_01]
The final transition from government under the Articles of Confederation to the new federal government under the United States Federal Constitution began with this letter from Charles Thomson’s notifying George Washington of his election to the presidency.
George Washington. First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789. Manuscript. George Washington Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (72.00.01)[Digital ID# us0072_2; us0072tt_1 — us0072tt_12]
President George Washington’s brief first inaugural address was delivered in the Senate Chamber of Federal Hall in New York City on April 30, 1789. Washington expressed confidence that Congress would amend the new Constitution with “a reverence for the characteristic rights of freemen, and a regard for the public harmony.” This brief, eight-page speech replaced his original draft of more than seventy pages.
A View of the Federal Hall of the City of New York, As It Appeared in the Year 1797. New York: George Holland and H.R. Robinson, [1847]. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (73.00.00)[Digital ID#ppmsca-19164]
Federal Hall was the site of the meeting of the first federal Congress in 1789. Built in 1700 Federal Hall, previously New York’s principal municipal building, had also been the site of key events on America’s road to freedom, including Peter Zenger’s trial for libel and the Stamp Act Congress in 1765. After only two sessions of Congress, the federal government moved to Philadelphia for ten years while the District of Columbia was prepared as the country’s capital.
Declaration of Rights in Anno Regni Gulielmi et Mariæ Regis & Reginæ Angliæ, Scotia, Franciæ & Hiberniæ, Primo. London: Charles Bill and Thomas Newcomb, 1689. Law Library, Library of Congress (108) [Digital ID# us0108_01]
Fearing abuses of rights and the restoration of the Roman Catholic Church under the Catholic King James II (reigned 1685–1688), the English parliament deposed James. They invited his Protestant daughter and son-in-law to assume the throne, but imposed the 1689 Declaration of Rights on the King William III (reigned 1689–1702) and Queen Mary II (reigned 1689–1694) as a precondition to being crowned. However, Parliament was more concerned with protecting its own rights and privileges than those of individuals.
“The Federal Edifice.” Massachusetts Centinel, August 2, 1788. Woodcut. Serial and Government Publications Division, Library of Congress (70.00.00)[Digital ID# us0070]
The ratification of the Constitution by the ”Eleventh Pillar”(New York) is celebrated in this newspaper editorial cartoon. The two remaining pillars— North Carolina and Rhode Island—did not ratify the Constitution until the new government went into operation and the Bill of Rights was adopted by Congress and sent to the states for approval in 1789.
Federal Hall, New York City. Lithograph after an engraving by Cornelius Tiebout, 1789. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (73)[Digital ID# ppmsca-15703]
Federal Hall in New York was the site of the meeting of the first federal Congress in 1789. Built in 1700 as New York’s City Hall and demolished in 1812, it also was the site of key events on America’s road to freedom. After the first and second sessions of Congress in 1789 and 1790, the federal government moved to Philadelphia until 1800, when it moved to Washington.
Thomas Jefferson. Map of the Capital District, 1791. Manuscript map. Thomas Jefferson Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (74)[Digital ID# us0074]
This plan for the United States capital district, which became known as Washington or the District of Columbia, was drawn by Thomas Jefferson in 1791. As secretary of state, Jefferson was one of the leaders in planning the capital district. Jefferson’s rough map shows the Capitol and president’s house before final placement decisions were made. The federal government did not move to Washington until November 1800.
Letter from John Langdon to George Washington, April 6, 1789. Manuscript. George Washington Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress (71.00.00)[Digital ID# us0071]
John Langdon (1741–1819) was presiding over the new United States Senate on April 6, 1789, when the electoral votes electing George Washington as president and John Adams as vice president were counted. Langdon’s letter notifying Washington of “your unanimous election” was carried to Mount Vernon by Charles Thomson, secretary of the outgoing Confederation Congress.
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